Our arrival in Key West was in plenty of time to check in at the hotel, find a place to park, and even look for a few souvenirs all before the sunset experience in Mallory Square. I will do a complete post on Mallory Square later so not many details will be shared here.   While at Mallory Square we witnessed a couple miss their cruise ship requiring them to chase the ship down in a small boat and climb aboard using a rope ladder all while the ship was backing out of the harbor and a gorgeous sunset. While on a past cruise I had the pleasure of catching the last tender boat out to the ship as I tend to want to explore as long as possible (my father-in-law has more stories of that). While watching the couple chase the ship I was asked how much of a chance I would take on another cruise if that is a possible result of being too late. To me, this would be a fun experience which I may try on the next cruise so this show had the opposite effect on me than desired by my wife. In her defense, she thought I missed the ship so has already had a taste of what that feels like and would prefer not to experience that again. Only time will tell I guess. I may try to take her with me while missing the ship. This photo of the sunset reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The next morning there was the pleasure of an alarm clock. This was never intended however the noise coming from this chicken made it a little difficult to sleep. Being awakened at sunrise was not in the plans but apparently was necessary. While laying there wanting to go back to sleep I couldn’t decide whether I had the desire to go out and feed the animals or have chicken for lunch. A word of caution, chickens are quite common on Key West so there is a greater chance that this will happen. After getting up and deciding to eat breakfast there was still a crowing close by. I decided to find this chicken so intent on waking us up. Once it was spotted all I could do was smile as I showed it to Karen who was equally irritated with this chicken. I smiled because I knew once she caught sight of the little baby chicks with the hen this rooster was protecting she would instantly forget about her irritations. How can you stay made at the cute little baby chickens?

By the way, we did end up eating chicken later that day!

During our journey to Key West we enjoyed a number of activities along the way. A year ago while driving out to Key West for the first time I had read about this place called Robbie’s Marina. If you’re interested you can read the post describing potential activities in the keys here. On that trip we never found Robbie’s. As it turns out, it was dark by the time we got to Islamorada which is why I never saw it. This time, however, we made the trip during the middle of the day in order to enjoy more of the sights along US 1 and just as we crossed the bridge to Islamorada, there it was – a sign for Robbie’s. I quickly slammed on the breaks and made the turn into the marina. It was never our intention to stop but there it was so we at least had to check it out.

I was amazed at how busy it was. There were some open air shops along with a restaurant and the marina. It costs $1.00 per person to enter the docks for the famous tarpon feeding. We paid our fee along with purchasing some food for the fish and on to the designated spot we went. There are some hazards you encounter before getting to the fish. These “hazards” are the pelicans. Not only do the fish like an easy meal but so do these feathered friends. They are not shy about chasing you and trying to steal your bucket of fish food (bait fish). Once getting past the gauntlet of birds we moved quickly to the feeding area set up to keep them out. I was advised not to get to close to the water as the fish take whatever appears and smells like food. All in all we spent about an hour at Robbie’s and enjoyed the sights. At their website they have webcams available to view the tarpon and pelicans. It’s a good reminder for us of our short time there.

After this fun experience we continued onward toward Key West. Fortunately along the way there are several places you can pull off and enjoy the scenery or go fishing. We decided it was time to eat so we happened by this great park right by US 1. There was cold pizza and fruit in the trunk from previous meals and we each had a drink with us so a nice spot with a little shade to eat and then enjoy some sun was in order. We could have easily spent the rest of the afternoon here as the temperatures were near 80 ⁰F with a slight breeze but our ultimate goal was to get to Key West in time to experience the sunset there so back on the road for the remainder of the trip. Looking at the photo below can you blame us for wanting to stay longer?

For more bits and pieces from the keys click here…